How to save on fuel; Exercise your way to a raise; Nice advisor bad advice; How to start investing; Enough already?

By Amanda Morrall

1) Fuel savings

My fuel saving strategy, apart from owning one of the most fuel efficient cars on the market (a Honda Jazz) is to avoid driving when possible and save on fuel where possible. I used to collect those grocery store dockets but more often than not they were for the petrol station that wasn't anywhere near where I lived or they'd get left behind in the wrong hand-bag. A few months back I picked up one of those AA Smartfuel cards (for free*) and started saving four cents a litre. There's a discount now for one of the participating petrol companies so it's a six cent a litre saving.

One of the advantages of the card is that it has an accumulating feature. Basically you can save up all the credits from shopping at participating retailers or buying fuel then cash them in for a full tank of petrol.

Since the card was introduced in November 2011, New Zealand motorists have earned more than $14 million in fuel discounts for the first six months of its fuel savings programme.

I spoke to AA Smartfuel general manager Ian Sutcliffe yesterday who says that 200,000 motorists have jumped on board. Another one million are subscribed through their AA memberships and are registered users.

Sutcliffe said the real time savings feature was proving a powerful drawing card for Kiwis. The savings structure and participating partners are explained in full on the Smartfuel website here.

2) The fitness advantage

Pssst. Looking to boost your earning ability. A new study, reported here by yahoofinance.com suggests that those who exercise regularly earn on average 9% more than their sedentary counterparts. While it is possible that those who have the discipline to get themselves out of bed and off the gym at sparrow's fart are simply more driven, researchers point to the medical and brain boosting effects of getting your blood pumping effectively boosting output and/or creativity on the job.

3) Nice advisor, bad advice

Yesterday, we published a guest blog by authorised financial advisor Tony Vidler on how to spot a financial advisory dinosaur. Some people seem to have taken offence to his tongue and cheek approach but Vidler raises some good points in my opinion. If you are going to pay for financial advice you want to ensure that you'll get good value from that advice.

Interestingly, the Age newspaper, in this article reports on the disconnect between what clients pay for, what they get and the value they perceived to have received for the service. That's based on a review done by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission which found that of 64 pieces of advice obtained by 50 to 69-year-old, only two were deemed to be good. Another 39% was rated poor. That's despite the vast majority of clients thinking they'd got a good deal. "Eighty-six per cent felt they had received good-quality advice and 81 per cent said they trusted their adviser 'a lot', the articles states.

So how do you determine if your adviser is any good? Doing some research and asking hard questions of your advisor is a start.

A senior executive for ASIC's MoneySmart website, Robert Drake, says it is often a question of what is missing from the advice or the long-term consequences that haven't been explored. But consumers can help the process along by being prepared.

''If you've done a bit of preparation and given some thought to what your goals are, you're better able to ask sensible questions, like what will happen to your retirement plan if you have to retire early because you're sick,'' he says. ''Good advisers appreciate that. If you can do your preparation and think about 'what if' scenarios and are prepared to discuss the pros and cons of different strategies, you're more likely to get good advice.''

There are clear warning signs of bad advice that consumers can look out for.